Daily Current Affairs for WBPSC Miscellaneous

Awards and Honours

• PMDDKY Excellence Awards: At the first-anniversary event on 11 October 2026, Gaya (Bihar) ranked first, Nagaur (Rajasthan) second and Umaria (Madhya Pradesh) third among the best-performing agricultural districts.
• Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist: Six novels—The End of Everything (M. John Harrison), The Disappearers (Marlon James), Black Bag (Luke Kennard), May We Feed the King (Rebecca Perry), The Things We Never Say (Elizabeth Strout) and John of John (Douglas Stuart)—were shortlisted. Each author receives £2,500; the November winner receives £50,000.
• Israel’s Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism: Captain Smit Machchhar will receive the award from President Isaac Herzog for defending against a cockpit attack aboard a flydubai flight and saving 174 passengers and crew.

Appointments and Persons in News

• Professor Achyuta Samanta: Founder of KIIT and KISS, elected first President of the Indian UniSport Federation at its inaugural Annual General Meeting in New Delhi.
• Prakash Rajpurohit: Appointed Deputy Election Commissioner by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet through 8 April 2030.
• External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar: Completed his five-day tour of Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia from 6–10 October 2026 to strengthen bilateral trade, defence and development cooperation.

Government Schemes, Policies and Welfare Initiatives

• Chennai Infrastructure Projects: On 11 October 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid foundation stones for projects worth over ₹13,000 crore covering metro rail (14.64-km elevated stretch), railways (Karaikal–Peralam line and Coimbatore rail flyovers worth over ₹750 crore), highways, ports, petroleum and education.
• PMDDKY Completes One Year: Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana completed its first year on 11 October 2026. Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the nationwide Khet Bachao Abhiyan soil-health campaign for 22 October–30 November 2026.
• DDU-GKY 2.0: Ministry of Rural Development is rolling out skill training for 34,920 rural youth across 14 States and Union Territories under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya–Grameen Kaushalya Yojana 2.0.

Sports and Games

• Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2026: Max Verstappen won at Marina Bay on 11 October, on his 250th Formula One start, securing his 73rd career victory ahead of Charles Leclerc and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
• Kisan Cricket League: Prasar Bharati and In-Dot Sports launched the league in New Delhi, using artificial intelligence-enabled digital auditions to discover rural cricketing and singing talent across tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
• Asian Para Games 2026 Flag Bearers: Pramod Bhagat (para-badminton) and Bhavina Patel (para-table tennis) named Indian contingent flag bearers for the Aichi-Nagoya Games, Japan, scheduled for 18–24 October 2026.

Science, Space and Technology

• Multilingual DST and MoS&T Portals: Dr. Jitendra Singh launched redeveloped Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Science and Technology websites integrated with BHASHINI artificial intelligence, providing single-window access in 22 regional languages.
• Unified Agentic AI Platform: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology selected CoRover.ai, creators of BharatGPT, to develop a unified agentic artificial intelligence assistant for government services, beginning with DigiLocker.
• India’s Space Economy: Official reports valued India’s space economy at USD 9 billion, with over 440 registered space startups and USD 618.5 million in private investments.

Summits, Bills and International Affairs

• Exercise MOUNTAIN GUARDIAN 2026: Indian and UAE armies conducted a two-week joint exercise at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand, from 5–18 October, focusing on mountain warfare, tactical rock climbing and drone operations.
• Second India–EFTA Prosperity Summit: Marking TEPA’s first anniversary, EFTA nations reaffirmed commitments to invest USD 100 billion and create one million jobs in India over 15 years.

Books, Authors and Important Days

• International Day of the Girl Child: 11 October; promotes girls’ rights, gender equality and empowerment.
• Sharad Navratri 2026: Began on 11 October across India as a nine-day festival celebrating Goddess Durga.
• Fun with Philately Day: 12 October; observed as part of National Postal Week 2026, organised by the Department of Posts.
• Book Release: Sanjay Jagdale: Rag-Rag Mein Cricket, by Kiran Waikar and Sunil Dudhale, released by Sunil Gavaskar in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

Miscellaneous

• Special Forex Window for Oil Marketing Companies: Reserve Bank of India operationalised a dedicated foreign-exchange facility from 12 October 2026 for public-sector oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited to meet daily dollar requirements.
• National Postal Week 2026: Maharashtra Postal Circle observed 9–15 October, recording 28%–39% growth across mail, parcel, international and postal life insurance verticals.
• Guruvayur Dorai: Renowned Carnatic mridangam maestro and Padma Shri awardee passed away in Chennai at age 91.

West Bengal Specific Current Affairs

• INS Shreyas Launch: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited launched INS Shreyas, the Indian Navy’s third Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessel, in Kolkata.
• India Energy Week 2027: New Town Convention Centre, Kolkata, confirmed as the venue for 28–31 January 2027.
• PMCSPY for Tea Workers: ₹313.30 crore allocated and managed by North Bengal Development Department under Pradhan Mantri Cha Shramik Protsahan Yojana for tea workers’ housing, education and healthcare.
• Mahalaya and Durga Puja: Traditional invocation of Goddess Durga observed across West Bengal, marking the arrival of Durga Puja.